The present invention relates to vehicle accessories, and more particularly to apparatus for temporary storage and cooling of a beverage container for access by an occupant of the vehicle.
Conventional beverage carriers include holders that can be attached to an interior structure of the vehicle, such as by hooking a tab of the carrier between a slidable window and its sill or frame. A beverage container such as a can or bottle is then lowered into a cylindrical cavity of the carrier, where it is retained for later use. Many of the beverage carriers of the prior art exhibit one or more of the following disadvantages:
1. The container, being loosely held in the cavity, can rattle about therein during operation of the vehicle, producing undesirable noise and harmful agitation of the beverage, as well as possibly shaking the container out of the carrier;
2. The carrier can be accidentally knocked loose from the window frame, causing further agitation of the beverage and possibly dumping the container out of the carrier;
3. The carrier is awkward to use in that separate lateral and vertical movements are required for inserting or removing the container;
4. Sunlight entering the vehicle through the adjacent window undesirably heats the container and its contents; and
5. No provision is made for cooling the beverage.
Thus there is a need for a beverage carrier that is effective for securely holding a container of the beverage in a convenient location in the vehicle where there is some protection from direct sunlight, that is easy to use and inexpensive to produce. There is a further need that the carrier be capable of cooling the beverage.